Self-regulation in the form of time management is a strategy many participants reported using to prepare for a new course. The majority of participants in the follow-up interview, from all Big 5 personality types, reported their first action at the beginning of a new semester was utilizing time management to review syllabi and take note of deadlines.

Wake Forest University

Follow-up interviews were used to obtain deeper responses from participants. The following are major themes obtained from these interviews related to distance learning and SRL:
- Motivation and Distance Learning
- Challenges Affecting Coursework Completion in Distance Learning
- Self-regulation and Course Preparation
- Delivery Format Preferences in Distance Learning

Factors Affecting SRL Use and Digital Learning Experiences (insights from qualitative data)

Bruso, J., Stefaniak, J., & Bol, L. (2020). An examination of personality traits as a predictor of the use of self-regulated learning strategies and considerations for online instruction. Educational Technology Research and Development, 68(5), 2659–2683. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09797-y

An Examination of Personality Traits as a Predictor of the Use of Self-regulated Learning Strategies and Considerations for Online Instruction

SRL comes into play when considering the busy lives of today's students. Challenges they face, even during face-to-face instruction, include competing deadlines, prioritizing school work, and work/family obligations. These obstacles make time regulation and other SRL strategies a necessity, but as we have learned, these strategies are more difficult to employ when participating in distance learning. 

Challenges Affecting Coursework Completion in Distance Learning

Participants' open-ended responses provided insight into the strain distance learning places on motivation and related factors. The digital interface eliminates opportunities for typical student-teacher and student-student interactions, making in-class participation and motivation to participate more scarce. Additionally, distance learning makes the idea of student accountability more challenging, and this accountability is oftentimes a strong motivational factor for students. Finally, the more impersonal nature of teacher feedback also plays a role in decreased motivation in distance learning. 

Motivation and Distance Learning

Self-regulation and Course Preparation

Twice as many participants preferred face-to-face instruction as their main form of learning material delivery. Interview responses suggested that this preference was due to the lack of social context (peer and instructor interactions) and the lack of nonverbal cues in distance learning. 

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